The Blurb
Sixteen-year-old Anabar has less than twelve hours to get to the capital city. This is the final test in his training to become a member of the Scouts, a band of ruthless swordsmen sworn to defend their nation. If he doesn’t make it, he will have to return to his farm, but that’s not the worst thing. His mentor, Omalof, wants the test to be as realistic as possible, so he reports Anabar as a dangerous criminal, and every soldier between him and the capital has orders to find and kill him.
ANABAR’S RUN is the story of a young man who dreams of leaving his isolated valley farm. While chasing his dream, he faces mountains and avalanches, bandits and bears, and months of brutal training. While physically tough enough to make it as a Scout, Anabar worries that he might not have the courage to fight and kill when called to do so. Despite this, he senses that he is destined to be a Scout, and is determined to make to the capital on time regardless of what he may be forced to do.
ANABAR’S RUN is the story of a young man who dreams of leaving his isolated valley farm. While chasing his dream, he faces mountains and avalanches, bandits and bears, and months of brutal training. While physically tough enough to make it as a Scout, Anabar worries that he might not have the courage to fight and kill when called to do so. Despite this, he senses that he is destined to be a Scout, and is determined to make to the capital on time regardless of what he may be forced to do.
The reality - 2 stars on the RANT scale
Okay, I bought this, the blurb sounded good. In reality… not so much. I will also add - this book has two 4 star reviews on Amazon - God only knows what those reviewers read, it can't have been this book..
The beginning was enjoyable enough but the first thing that strikes you is how amateurish it reads. Now as mentioned, I judge indie authors as harshly as I do 'traditionally published' authors. I will let the occasional spelling/formatting issue slide though. But that's it.
This book reads as though it was written by a 15yrold - and not in the Eragon manner. In the 'And Anabar did this, then he thought that, and then Anabar did this' style. Stilted. Still I liked the characters enough to keep reading. I did actually read the whole book - no skimming, hence I rated this 2 on my rant scale rather than a 1. I was very tempted to give it a 1 when I came across this little gem.
In the book you read about a stranger observing Anabar when he was in trouble, but not helping. It was just a minor mention, but it was there and I did notice it. I really didn't need the author to point, out a few pages later when we meet this shady character
(appears first time on p.24)
Now I'm no expert on writing, but I have read a lot. And I've never, ever come across this before.
My wife thought it was hilarious when I showed her and referred to it as 'authorial intrusion' and while the term sounds impressive, it isn't something you want to see. The dialogue is stilted (there's that word again.. a common theme playing in my head while reading this) and there's lots of it. Yay.
The formatting is shocking and the worst I've seen yet. And that's saying something. Chapters go from being long (normal size) to one paragraph. There are blank pages, frequently, and then a couple of pages, for no apparent reason, are centralized. When you're already having trouble getting into a book - this doesn't make it any easier to read.
In short - save your .99c - it ain't worth it.
